1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sorting phonebook contacts. More particularly, the present invention relates to sorting phonebook contacts by identifying a set of contacts for each application based on contact incentives, and identifying the weights of an application based on application incentives.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication devices, particularly mobile or portable electronic devices, have become increasingly popular and prevalent in society for communication purposes. Many users use mobile or portable computer devices as their primary means of communication, and carry such devices with them constantly. Mobile electronic devices can perform various functions such as a phonebook function, a cellular phone service function, a Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) phone service function, functions associated with various software applications stored thereon, an email access function, functions associated with Internet capabilities, calendar functions, a music playback function, a video playback function, and the like.
Users typically utilize phonebook functionality to select contacts with whom the users wish to communicate. A list of contacts generally includes contact names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. Phonebook functionality also includes a sorting function that enables contacts to be organized in a particular manner. For example, the contacts may be sorted and organized such that the user can find the telephone number of an individual by scrolling through the names and telephone numbers on a display. According to the related art, the user may then instruct the electronic device to dial the number by pressing a button.
According to the related art, if a user wants to find a particular contact using the phonebook functionality of an electronic device, then the user has to scroll or navigate the contact list until the entry is found. To some extent, the phonebook contacts are arranged and accessed using the existing features. The user can sort or group the phonebook based on attributes such as first name, family name, date, and the like. According to the related art, the user may be given an option to select a character using hanging bar so that user can jump to a corresponding section of the phonebook. The user may refer to a contact register for quickly accessing a contact. For example, the contact register may correspond to a list for missed, dialed, received, and/or recent calls list, a list for sent and/or received SMS, and the like.
However, according to the related art, accessing the contact entries can be very tedious and time consuming. For example, accessing contact entries may involve performing lookups, performing several key presses, typing on existing keyboard input mechanisms, and the like. Further, phonebooks are filled with contacts with whom the user infrequently contacts. Such contacts are stored and displayed alongside contacts with whom the user contacts on a much more frequent basis. Consequently, according to the related art, the congested nature of the phonebook hampers the access to the highly used contacts.
Due to abovementioned reasons, it is evident that the existing system for accessing the contacts in the phonebook is cumbersome. Therefore, there is a need for a system which overcomes the deficiencies described hereinabove and enables the user with a quick and more convenient mode of accessing the phonebook contacts.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.